It is probably the kind of tree we should be planting out here, since most of Utah is prone to a bad drought every 16 years. I understand it is a little tender for Zone 5, so you must be down in Southern Utah. As you probably gathered, it is not really a willow. It is just called that because of the long narrow leaves. I forget the tribe, but a certain Native American tribe used the leaves to thatch their roofs (I guess they smell nice too).

It is one of those trees that is more commonly seen as a bush in the wild. It provides good nesting for birds and deer love to eat it, and the hummingbirds seek it out. In the wild it is an indicator of water not too far below the surface, although it can take drought very well.

I have not seen one in bloom, but if you follow the thread on tree recommendations below, you will see the Chitalpa has this tree as a parent along with the Catalpa. If it blooms like my Chitalpa, it will have a long blooming season from early Summer into Fall.

It has interesting twisting branches that make for nice winter silhouette, wide round canopy going more conical at the top if it takes tree form.

Hmmm, I'm in Riverton and most places I've checked list me as zone 6A. I just looked up on Gardenweb and it shows zone 5. I hadn't ever questioned my zone, and I'm growing zone 6 roses that haven't had any problems. The map shows some zone 6 in the Salt Lake Valley and even a spot of zone 7 near the lake.

Anyway, thank you for responding with the info on the desert willow. I definitely have been trying to encourage hummingbirds to my yard with my plantings. With the exception of a hummer visiting a hosta, I don't think they've found my penstemons and agastache yet.

I'm struggling with placement for the desert willow. I could dig up an area in the south facing front yard, where it would get sun all day, or there's a spot in the backyard. where there's shade from the house until the sun is higher in the sky. Then it would be in sun most of the day, getting the western sun also until sunset.

Any thoughts?

There are 2 different zone indexes, but I thought we were pushing it even at zone 5. The USDA zone map is here,
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-sw1.html

although I like the one the Western Gardens uses as it takes more data into account.

Chitalpa I believe is ok down to 0 degrees, so I thought it would be a little tender for Riverton.

Here is a link that might be useful: National USDA Zones

I have a hard time telling on the map. It's usually the search by zip code I've used. I'll have to go to Western Gardens and have a look at theirs.

Thanks,
Barb

Yipes! You might be on the edge for this plant, so no cold pockets. It needs well drained soil, no heavy clay if possible. I've killed more of these than I care to mention because of my clay......and I'm zone 6 leaning towards 5.

Big problem, other than cold and heavy soils...is it must be forced into dormancy! Stop watering in August...even early August. Otherwise it trys to continue sending out new growth all the way to a freeze......so much new growth is killed back. Not a problem with older plants, but a bummer with a small plant.

It is really a shrub so will be sending up multiple stems, not suckers. It is weak wood, breaks easily (especially if you over water.) This is a plant that doesn't want fertilizer, excessive water.

I'm assuming you have the species....so the flowers are pinkish, orchid like, some scent. Hybrids range in color from deep magenta to white. Since catalpa is a family member, you get the seed pods, long slender. No fall color (remember, it freezes).

Good luck. I love them and so do the hummers and bumblebees.

I'm growing one in sort of marginal territory too, with pretty good success. A little die-back on the branch tips each year, but not enough that I've bothered to prune it off. They definitely like heat - mine's on the south side of the house. It has grown pretty fast too, maybe 18" a year to about twelve feet now, although I understand that they slow down a little bit as they get bigger. I think in cultivation it is pretty easy to grow into tree form, trimming it up a little after the first couple years. Mine has a single truck, but starts branching just a foot above the ground, with a kind of contorted shape. The flowers are a knockout. IMO, you can give it water in the summer and maybe through September, but I don't think I'd put it out in a lawn. It's better suited to a dryer area like a xeric garden or gravel mulched spot.

Delray, I checked at the West Valley Western Gardens, and was told definitely zone 6. He said Park City was zone 5. Maybe a bit oversimplified. Looking closely at the map, it looks to me like a good portion of Salt Lake County is zone 6&7. National Garden Assoc. says zone 6b for my zip. Arborday.org says zone 5-7 (That's helpful!) Of course the weather is what it is. We've had some mild winters, but we may get a bad one that will kill a lot of plants.

Thanks Crumpet and Shudavies,
I'll definitely put it on the south side. I don't really have a large xeric area. I was planning on replacing the lawn w/ thyme little by little in the front yard, I might have to do it sooner.

I definitely thought the flowers were a knockout, I was a moth to the flame when I spotted it!
Here's a close up of the flowers kind of purply magenta.

Thanks for the help all,
Barb

Just as an FYI, my desert willow survived it's first winter. It was extremely late to emerge from dormancy though. We thought it was dead and the only thing preventing our digging it out was laziness. In this case the laziness paid off. It's blooming now.

Happy gardening,
Barb

Ooh, pretty! Those blossoms look like a penstemon.

I am looking at planting one of these on the east bench in SLC this coming spring. I was planning to put Christmas lights on it for a little extra warmth through winter. I hope you post how this all turned out!